Construction unit



Feb. 1, 1938. 1 w. EILERTSEN CONSTRUCTION UNIT Filed Jan. 16, 1956 INVENT OR.

feo fari/friser( ATTRNgd Patented Feb. 1, 1938 UNITED STATES CONSTRUCTION UNIT `Leo W. Eilertsen, Seattle, Wash., assignor to I. F. Laucks, Inc., Seattle, Wash., a corporation of Washington Application January 16,1936, Serial No. 59,437 l l 11 Claims.

This invention-relates to a construction unit and method of making same and 'particularly to panel walls, ceilings, etc., constructed with plywood panels, composition board panels, bre' board panels, etc.

An object of the invention is the provision of a construction unit in the form of a wall or a ceiling composed of a number of plywood panels, for example, in which wall or ceiling after decoration no cracks or openings are visible at the joints between the individual panels which are comprised in the construction unit.

A further object of the invention is the provision of exceptional strength in walls and ceilings built with plywood or other panels so that the thickness of the panels may be decreased and the studding made of smaller sizes of lumber than is now the practice and still provide walls and ceilings having greater resistance to strains and shocks which develop in buildings after construction due to settling, atmospheric changes and other natural causes. Y

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereafter.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention, then, comprisesthe features hereinafter fully describedjand particularly pointed out-in the claims, the following description setting forth -in detail certain illustrative embodiments of the invention, these being indicative however, of but a few of the various ways in which theprinciple of the invention may be employed.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention,l reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which: y

Figure 1 is an elevational view, partly broken away, of one form of construction unit embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a horizontal section at line 2--2 of Fig. 1 showing one form of construction unit embodying the invention in which the partition face is of composition board.

Figure 3 is a similar view of a slight modication in which the partition'face, is of plywood.

Figure 4is a vertical. section on line 4 4 of Fig. 1, and

Figure 5 is a similar view of a modification.

The use of wallboard, such as composition board, nbre board and particularly lplywood wallboard, for partitions, ceilings, etc., in buildings has long presented a special problem inthe mattel'l of the treatment of the joints between adjacent wallboard. panels comprising the face of the partition, ceiling, etc. In many cases the real problem has been avoided by use of battens or` strips of'wood applied over all the joints giving a fr'ankly paneled interior surface to the wall 5 or ceiling. However there are many'and obvious objections to this form of construction such as the uneven surface, dimculty of decorating, limitation of style of wall furnishings, etc. The desire has long' been present for a form of construc- 10 tion which would provide wall or ceiling units in which the joints between the individual, adjacent Wall board panels were completely and permanently concealed. This desire was all the more accentuated on the part of wallboard manul5 facturers, and particularly plywood wallboard manufacturers, because all the other cracks so common in plastered construction for example are entirely eliminated byf the use of wallboard, and particularly plywood wallboard, as partition 20 material. Thus it is obviously all the more desirable to eliminate the one remaining crack. that is between two adjacent panels.

Because of this real need of the wallboard industry and the building trades a great many 25 suggestions have been made in the attempt tol solve this problem. For example a number of joint iillers are on the market, the purpose of which is to fill upthecracks or^joints between panel members and to adhere to the adjacent 30 edges. These, however, are only partially suc- J cessful. If any amount oi.'` strain is transmitted to the wall from any cause the joint is of course the weakest section and a crack inevitably occurs. So f`ar it has been impossible to make 35 a joint illler which has sufficient adhesion to the narrow edges of the panel to join the two panels together by a bond as strong as the panels. This method therefore is successful only, where strains are almost absent in the wall, or else are very '40 moderate strains.

Another method of joint treatment embodies the vuse of fabrics or of even special metal sheets which are fastened by adhesives in such a manner as to span the joint. Proposals of this 45 nature are, however, quite expensive, especially in the labor cost of putting them in place sinceA the surface of the panel must be recessed in order to receive a strip of this nature, otherwise the strip will show unless of course a very thick 50 coating of some sort is placed over it. For this reason where smooth nish walls are vdesirable this form of construction is not possible .and in any case it has not been adopted widely because of the expense of using it. Other proposals em- 55 'transmitted tothe wallboard, .in turn cracking the joint. With most types of construction the yback side of the partition, especially of outside walls is very likely to be subjected to moisture while the inside is generally subjected to quite dry atmosphere. Leaky roofs, window' frames and so oncalso afford access of moisture so that in general there is very great opportunity for strains to be set' up along the joints due to moisture changes, ordue to uneven moisture conditions.

I have discovered a construction unit and meth- Referring more particularly to the drawing, I

' have shown at I a support or two by four to which is. nailed or glued a strip oi plywood 2 desirably with transverse grain which is preferably, but 'not essentially, slightly Awider than the support. vThe support, whether vertical or horizontal, is for convenience hereinafter concisely designated studding.v When the strip is attachedl by gluing, light nails 5 are used to hold 2 elements tightly until the glue is set. The partition panels 3 are then erected against the strips 2 on which glue has been spread and are held in place until the glue is set, by nails t which may be only partiallydrlvenhomesoastopermiteasyre-` moval' after the setting of the glue, or may be ydriven in permanently, thevglue line being indicated at l. y The panels may be of homogeneous material, as composition board, fibre board, insulation board, etc., as indicated at 3 in Fig. 2, or of laminated material, as plywood, as indicated att' in Fig. 3. Where two panels join on astud and plywood strip the edges may be tightly butted together whereupon Aa slight squeeze-out of the glue from the glue line 1 will take place and ll the very slight opening, any excess being sanded oif the outer surface. If however it is desired to itl may be illled with a so-called crack or joint filler since no strain is put upon the filler in the joint with this construction unit. All that is required of the joint ller is that it shall have adhesion to the edges of the panels, as all the strains and stresses of the old type of construction are taken up and compensated in my construction unit leaving none to wreck thejoint ller. It is preferable that a quick-Setting casein glue be used between the plywood strip and the wall panels, but this is not absolutely essential. It is essential that the glue shall be moisture resistant when wet. After the glue is set and the nails 6 withdrawn (if that is desired) the unit is completed and ready for decoration. In case the butt joint was used between the panels the squeezed out glue may be sanded off. If joint C aroma-ro In such cases the slight working of the stud on the nails or other fastenings which attach the plywoodv strip acts to protect the glued joints uniting the panels to the plywood strips from stresses to which they otherwise would be subjected. Thus a useful function is performed in making panel joints still more. secure against cracking.- In the illustration, as shown in Fig. 5, a support la may be of steel, and the plywood strip 2 may be held thereto by screws or bolts b. The glue line 1 then secures the panels l to the plywood strip, as foregoing.

llLv construction unit provides an interior wall surface which may be decorated in any desired manner with oil paints or water paints or textures, which when complete will show no :evidence of the joining of the panels and which will not be panels dueto subsequent strains from various additional moisture had been applied. The joints were filled and sanded down. The wall was'permitte'd to dry until moisture testers indicated uniform moisture conditions throughout the wall. Examination of the joints showed absolutely no hair cracks at any point in any of the joints, -even when examined under a magnifying glass. A cut-outv section of wall eight feet by eight feet square was then-usadas a test section. By means of clamps applied diagonally across the corners a heavy pressure was applied sufilcient to warp the test section into a concave shape. No cracks 'appeared at the joints. While the section of wall was still heid under this strain a strong mechanicai vibration was applied at the rate of 500 vibrations per minuteV for two hours. No cracks developed in the joints. The strain across the diagonal corners was then released and the vibration was further continued for two hours. No cracks occurred. The face of the section was then subjected to heat while the back of the section and the studs were kept wet by means of wet cloths fastened to the studding and by means of I spraying water on the-back side of the section. The joints were inspected at frequent intervals during this test and after redrying of the panel and studs and at no time was any crack visible even under a magnifying glass.

In contrast to the results above described a similar section formed in the ordinaryway by nailing the wallboard to the studding, then illling the joints with a joint filler, showed very pronounced cracks at the joint immediately when the strain was placed across the diagonal corners.

Experiments were made using strips of composition board in place of the plywood strips 2 in the drawing. Cracks also appeared under test,

but-not as quickly as in the old method of con- 1s marred by cracks appearing at the joints of the 30 I struction. Where, however, the strips 2 were madef of plywood with the face'grain running either parallel or at right anglesto the grain of the studding no cracks occurred. Obviously nailable and glueable strips of other materials may be substituted 'for the plywood strip provided they have equivalent strength. For inA stance strips of dense' ber board or of asbestos board are effective and therefore equivalent.

Other modes of applying the principle of the invention may be employed instead of these herein explained, change being made as regards the details disclosed, provided the features stated in any of the following claims, or the equivalent of such, be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my inventionze- 1. A construction unit comprising wallboard supported by studding by means of a plywood strip glued to both studding and wallboard.

2. A construction unit comprising wallboard supported by studding by means of a plywood strip glued to both studding and wallboard with a. water resistant glue.

3. A construction' unit comprising wallboard glued to plywood strips interposed between said wallboard and supporting studding.

4. A construction unit comprising plywood wallboard glued to plywood strips interposed between said wallbcard Jai'idsupporting studding.

5. A construction unit comprising plywood wallboard glued with water resistant casein glue to plywood strips interposed between said plywood wallboard and supporting studding.

6. As a construction unit. a wall covering composed of panels united by glued plywood-reinforced `butt-joints spliced on the non-exposed side to form a single reinforced-joint sheet, said sheet being attached to the supports.

7. As a construction unit, a-wall covering com;

posed of panels united by glued butt-joints spliced on the non-exposed side to form a single sheet, said sheet being attached to the supports by metallicfastenlng means.

8. A construction unit comprising wallboard glued to plywood strips interposed between said wallboard and supporting studding, all of the panel joints being located on said strips.

9. As a construction unit a wall support comprising means for a glued joint to hold wallboard, said means including a plywood strip with a. stud carrying the same.

' 10. As a construction unit a wall support comprising means for a glued joint to hold wallboard, said means including' a plywood strip with a metal stud carrying the same.

11. As a.- construction unit a unit wall section comprising panel surfaced walls, the individual panels composing each wall being joined to each other by glue attached plywood strips themselves attached to supporting astudding, said sections being adapted for attachment by adhesive means to similar sections to form a. continuous Wall.l

- LEO W. EILERTSEN. 

